


Picture Imperfect

by lost_in_thyme_and_spacebars



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Gen, Horror, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 14:06:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2510450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lost_in_thyme_and_spacebars/pseuds/lost_in_thyme_and_spacebars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a small, battered picture frame on his desk. He doesn't know why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Picture Imperfect

**Author's Note:**

> Please see the end for plot specific warnings. I don't want to spoil anything but I'd like to not cause any (unwanted) distress.  
> I hope you enjoy the story!  
> Written for Prompt: Picture Frame.

Jim wasn’t quite sure when it had appeared. There, on the corner of his desk, sat a small, worn gilt frame. The contents of the picture were indiscernible to the naked eye, the cracked glass having subjected the printed surface to the wear and tear of, well, who knows how many years. 

At first he had simply assumed that one of his crew was playing a practical joke on him. Halloween was in a month’s time, and he wouldn’t put it past an ensign or two to dare each other into playing a trick on their Captain. So, he ignored it. Then it began to change. 

It was barely noticeable at first: a slight hint of red at the corner of the paper. He put it down to the lighting. It spread slowly, creating thin, intricate lines that seemed to form no particular pattern. Mr Spock, when asked to analyse the picture, identified the substance as Aspergillus versicolor, a red mould most commonly associated with dank and enclosed spaces. Bones, when consulted, took the frame and locked it in a cupboard. “You’re probably allergic to it anyway, dammit”.

The next morning, Jim woke to find the frame on his desk once more. The red had thickened in areas, and a tiny trickle of black had begun to weave its way among the growths. From a certain angle, it almost resembled… No. It must be the stress getting to him.

He began to enquire around the ship about the origins of the frame, but no-one seemed to know where, or whom it had come from. Every night he would lock the frame away, and every morning it would be back. He wasn’t sleeping well anymore. With each passing day he grew thinner, paler and more distant. He could barely hear the voices of his friends. He could barely feel their concerned touches.  
Spock began to spend all his free time in the archives, trying to find out why such an innocuous substance as a household spore was affecting his Captain in such an extreme manner. Bones gave Jim hypo after hypo in an attempt to slow the symptoms, but none worked. The frame was no longer tattered. Its metallic carvings, once lost to time, were bright and detailed. The reds and blacks now covered the entirety of its innards.

It was October 30th when it ended. He was found that morning, entangled in his blankets with an arm stretched towards the door. His hand was cold. It was strange, but through the tears of grief that were shed that day – the picture in its little frame looked a lot like Jim.

**Author's Note:**

> Contains Possession, Physical Deterioration and Helplessness. Very little bad language.


End file.
